SACRAMENTO -- The "second season" begins this week for the Sacramento State men's soccer team as the Hornets open Big West Conference play with a pair of matches on the road in Southern California. Sacramento State meets CSU Bakersfield on Wednesday (Sept. 28) at 11 a.m., before taking on UC San Diego on Saturday (Oct. 1) at 7 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #10
WHAT: Sacramento State (5-2-2, 0-0-0 Big West) at CSU Bakersfield (2-5-1, 0-0-0 Big West)
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022
TIME: 11 a.m.
WHERE: Bakersfield, Calif.
STADIUM: CSUB Main Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: GoRunners.com
MATCH #11
WHAT: Sacramento State (5-2-2, 0-0-0 Big West) at UC San Diego (4-3-2, 0-0-0 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022
TIME: 7 p.m.
WHERE: La Jolla, Calif.
STADIUM: Triton Soccer Stadium
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: UCSDTritons.com
IN THE POLLS: Sacramento State received six votes in the Sept. 20 United Soccer Coaches poll, one of 11 teams in that category... Updated national polls will be released on Tuesday (Sept. 27)... The Hornets enter this week ranked No. 5 in the Far West region, down one spot from last week's ranking following the loss to San Francisco... CSU Bakersfield is unranked in the regional polls, but UC San Diego is No. 9 in the Far West poll this week.
THAT'S RANK: Sacramento State's appearance in last week's United Soccer Coaches national poll marked only the seventh time that the Hornets have been among that group according to the organization's archive that dates back to 1996, and the first since they received six votes on Aug. 30, 2011. Sacramento State has twice finished the year receiving votes nationally in 2009 and 2010, including a program-high seven votes at the end of the 2010 campaign.
BE A FOLLOWER...: Fans can keep up with the latest in Sacramento State athletics by following us on Facebook (/SacramentoStateAthletics), Twitter (@HornetSports), and Instagram (@sacstateathletics). You can also follow the Hornets' men's soccer program on all three platforms: Instagram (@sacstatemsoccer), Twitter (@sacstmsoccer), and Facebook (/sacstatemsoccer).
WE'LL DO IT LIVE!: This week's matches at CSU Bakersfield and UC San Diego will be streamed live on the ESPN+ subscription platform. Links to watch and for live stats for all matches throughout the season will be posted, as soon as they are available, on the men's soccer schedule page at HornetSports.com.
PRESEASON PICKS: After narrowly missing out on a top-six finish and a Big West Conference Tournament berth in 2021, the Hornets were picked to finish fifth in the league in 2022 according to a vote of head coaches released on Aug. 19. Sacramento State garnered 46 total points to finish just one point behind UC Riverside in fourth and three back from UC Davis in third. Everyone is chasing UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine, which received 71 points each to tie for the top spot, but the Gauchos took home six first-place votes to three for the Anteaters.
SCOUTING CSU BAKERSFIELD: The Roadrunners enter the week with a 2-5-1 overall record and are winless in their last four (0-3-1) following a 2-1 loss at No. 14 Portland last week on the road... Four of the team's eight matches have been decided by a single goal with another scoreless draw added on... Senior midfielder Carlos Armendariz leads the team with a pair of goals, tying him with teammate Jacob Fitzgerald for the team lead with four points... Junior goalkeeper Filippo Dadone has started all eight matches, posting a 1.71 goals against average and 33 saves (.717 save percentage) with a pair of shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: CSU Bakersfield leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by an 9-5-3 count since 1991, including a 2-0 win in Sacramento last season for its second straight victory in the series... The Hornets' last win in the series came in 2018 by a 5-4 score in overtime, ending an eight-match unbeaten streak by CSUB, which outscored Sacramento State, 24-2, in that stretch... The Hornets are 2-4-1 on the road against the Roadrunners.
SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO: The Tritons enter the week with a 4-3-2 overall record and travels to UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday before hosting the Hornets... UCSD is winless in its last three (0-2-1), falling at San Diego State (1-0) in its only match last week... Forward Nick Cirrito leads the team with two goals -- one of six players to find the back of the net this year -- while midfielder Alessandro Allen has a goal and two assists... Goalkeeper Dominic Peters has started all nine matches, posting a 0.82 goals against and 40 saves (.851 save percentage) to go with three shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State and UC San Diego have faced one another only once since the Tritons made the move to Division I, with the Hornets posting a 2-1 overtime win at home in 2021 thanks to Titus Washington's 98th minute heroics.
FOR OPENERS... BIG WEST STYLE: Since joining the Big West Conference prior to the 2012 season, Sacramento State is an even 4-4-1 in league openers, battling to a 1-1 draw with Cal Poly at home back in 2021... The Hornets open league play on the road for the first time since 2019 when they fell at UC Santa Barbara, 2-0, and are 2-2 when opening conference play on the road... This year marks the first time that Sacramento State will open Big West play against CSU Bakersfield, having opened against six of the league's nine other members in its previous nine conference openers.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State is a combined 54-97-22 against its Big West Conference rivals since 2012, posting its highest win totals against Cal Poly and UC Davis -- both with nine.
TOP OF THE TABLE: Sacramento State enters Big West Conference play with a seat at the top of the league table, joining perennial power UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton with five victories apiece. The Hornets' five wins this season match last year's overall win total, while they look to improve on their 3-4-2 mark in conference play from a season ago that left them just one point shy of a berth in the Big West Tournament.
WAIT... WE LOST?: The Hornets felt the sting of defeat for only the second time in 2022 with their 2-1 loss to San Francisco -- falling for the first time since the season opener at No. 3 Washington on Aug. 25. The loss put an end to two significant streaks: a seven-match (5-0-2) unbeaten streak overall in 2022 and a six-match (5-0-1) home unbeaten streak dating back to last season.
ON THE SPOT: Michael Gonzalez's penalty against San Francisco was the team's first of the season and the first by a Hornet since Eloge Iradukunda converted with 39 seconds remaining against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 23, 2021. The Hornets are a perfect six for their last six from the spot dating back to a miss on Sept. 23, 2018, on the road against, coincidentally, San Francisco.
CORNERED: The Hornets enter the start of Big West play with a league-high 54 corners on the season, averaging six per contest (No. 47 in the NCAA) through the team's nine matches. Sacramento State earned 11 corners in its 2-2 draw at UNLV -- the most in a single match since collecting 14 against William Jessup on Sept. 24, 2010, and the most against a Division I opponent since posting 13 against Loyola Marymount a week earlier on Sept. 17, 2010.
THAT'S OFFENSIVE: And we mean that in a good way. Sacramento State enters conference play ranked among the top three in the Big West in a number of offensive categories, including: shots (2nd), shots per game (3rd), shots on goal (T-2nd), points (3rd), and goals scored (3rd).
FIRST!: The Hornets have gotten off to a strong start by scoring first in six of their nine matches thus far this season -- and eight of their last 11 dating back to last year -- posting a 5-0-1 record in those contests in 2022.
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Five different Hornets have accounted for the game-winning scores in each of the team's five victories this season: Dominic Vegaalban (San Jose State), Austin Wehner (Saint Mary's), Christo Cervantes (LMU), Francisco Magana (Gonzaga), and Jaime Robles (Utah Tech), while Vegaalban, Wehner, and Genaro Alfaro have tallied game-winning assists. Dating back to last year, Sacramento State's last seven game-winners have been scored by seven different players when you add Titus Washington's winner versus UC San Diego and Alejandro Alcantra's score against Cal State Fullerton.
GONZALEZ MAKES EIGHT: Last year's leading scorer is finally in the scoring column in 2022 as Michael Gonzalez finished with a three-point night at UNLV on Sept. 18. Gonzalez posted the assist on Genaro Alfaro's opening score, then tallied his first goal of the year 15 minutes later to become the eighth different goal scorer for the Hornets this season. Gonzalez's performance was his first career three-point performance in the green and gold as he found the back of the net for the first time since a 3-1 win over Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 23, 2021.
TWO (OR THREE, OR FOUR) ARE BETTER THAN ONE: The Hornets have scored multiple goals in five of their first nine matches, while surrendering multiple goals only three times against Gonzaga, UNLV, and San Francisco. To compare, the Hornets had only six multiple-goal matches over 18 contests in 2021.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Jaime Robles' second goal of the season couldn't have come at a better time for the Hornets as his header off a Genaro Alfaro free kick in the 89th minute was the difference in a 1-0 win at Utah Tech on Sept. 16. It was the latest goal (88:29 to be exact) scored in regulation by a Sacramento State player since Eloge Iradukunda converted a penalty against Cal State Fullerton with 39 seconds remaining on Oct. 23 of last season, and the latest regulation game-winner since Alex Bettencourt scored at the 89:15 mark to defeat Portland, 2-1, on Sept. 15, 2016.
HIGH FIVE?: Following his hat trick performance by Gonzaga back on Sept. 11, a fifth goal by Francisco Magana (or anyone else for that matter) this season would be the most by a Hornet since Benji Kikanovic and Dominic Scotti finished with five apiece in 2018.
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS... EVERYBODY!: Francisco Magana's hat trick against Gonzaga on Sept. 11 came on seven total shots in the match -- six of those on frame as the junior continously threatened to put more in the back of the net. The seven attempts matched Dominic Vegaalban's seven shots against San Jose State on Aug. 28 for the most by a Hornet this year and the most for a Sacramento State player in nine years dating back to Edwin Luna's eight attempts in a 1-1 draw with San Francisco on Sept. 12, 2013. The 20 shots as a team were the most for Sacramento State since it took 20 against CSUN on Oct. 6 of last season, while Magana's six shots on goal against Gonzaga were the most since Isaac Flores finished with seven (of his 12 overall) against William Jesup on Sept. 9, 2011.
MORE FOR MAGANA: Magana's six shots on goal shares the national single-match lead with Tulsa's Malik Henry-Scott, who scored twice and put all six of his attempts on goal against UMKC on Sept. 2, and Portland's CJ Tibbling, who scored four times against Utah Tech on Sept. 25, putting six of his nine shots on frame.
HAT TRICK HOOPLA: Magana's hat trick is one of 25 in the NCAA entering this week's contests and the first by a Big West Conference player since UC Davis' Maximilian Arfsten did so against San Francisco on Sept. 22 of last year. Magana's six points are ranked tied for second on the school's single-match list as he now leads the team with four goals and eight points, matching teammate Michael Gonzalez's team-high four goals last year.
